The 5 Biggest Tech Scandals of 2017

2017 has been a year with no small share of controversy across many different industries and sectors.

The tech world in particular has been no stranger to scandal, finding itself at the epicenter of a series of major headlines drawing the public eye (and ire).

In a recent study, Instamotor has discovered what tech enthusiasts believe are the five biggest scandals of the year.

Read on to see the ranked list.

A pedestrian checks a mobile device in front of the Uber Technologies Inc. headquarters building in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Travis Kalanick has resigned from his job leading Uber Technologies Inc., giving up his effort to hold onto power as a torrent of self-inflicted scandals enveloped him and the global ride-hailing leviathan he co-founded. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

5. Female engineer unveils sexist culture at Uber

In February, Susan Fowler came forward with a blog post that described the misogynistic environment at the ride-sharing company. Within days, Uber had launched an internal investigation.

4. Google engineer sends sexist memo

In August, Google engineer James Damore released an internal "anti-diversity" memo citing misguided Google efforts to create inclusive work environments for women. Google's VP of Diversity, Integrity, & Governance was swift to issue a statement, and Damore was fired shortly thereafter.

3. Uber admits to 2016 data breach and hacker bribing

Uber again came under fire for an October 2016 data breach that included the personal data of 50M users and 7M driver accounts. CSO Joe Sullivan and his top aide were forced out of the company for hiding the breach and paying the hackers $100,000 in hush money.

1. Facebook, Twitter and Google testify about Russian meddling in the 2016 election

In October, lawyers from three of the biggest names in the Internet stood before Congress, where they were grilled on the specific capabilities of their platforms, as well as how these were used to influence the 2016 US presidential election.